Chapter 45
is the 45th chapter of the manga and the first chapter of the Castle of Lies Arc. Tojo confirms that Yosuke Hinoki and the SR Unit are the ghosts who are interfering with Kasper Hekmatyar's attempt to break into Southeast Asia. After he briefs the squad on the SR Unit and Yosuke, elsewhere his former boss informs the members of the SR Unit that Koko is involved and launches Plan KK. Title page Tojo, Koko Hekmatyar, Jonah, and Valmet outside Narita International Airport. Summary Kasper Hekmatyar continues that he is sure that Yosuke Hinoki is interfering with him in Southeast Asia but needs confirmation, which he asks Tojo to handle, although it is more of a request than an order since he no longer works for him. While he admires Tojo's principle of not using connections against former employers against them unless lives are involved, that time is now. Koko voices her disagreement with how Kasper is handling the SR Unit, although he contends that they were the ones who picked a fight with him, which is why he is asking for help. Koko agrees somewhat reluctantly that she will help Kasper regardless. When Tojo asks what Kasper plans to do when it is confirmed that the SR Unit is really involved, the latter replies that he will crush them. Tojo points out that Yosuke can be stubborn, which will cause problems. However Kasper wonders how the departure of a talented man like Tojo affected the SR Unit. After Kasper departs for Indonesia to deal with the SR Unit's , Ganville Trading, which is based in Jakarta, Tojo, Koko, Jonah, and Valmet are outside Narita International Airport. Koko reaffirms that she will support Kasper and that if things work out he gets the Southeast Asian route and she will be rewarded. When she asks if there will be an issue if Tojo has to go up against his former boss, Tojo states that it will not be a problem as he is now an HCLI man despite what Yosuke has done for him. Valmet then grabs him in a from behind as she thinks that he is making Koko sad. Tojo starts to have trouble breathing, but his back feels great because of the pressure from Valmet's breasts. Somewhere in Japan, Yosuke is driving when he gets a call from Tojo. After learning that he is still with HCLI despite not working for Kasper, he is asked to step away from the Southeast Asian route as HCLI will move against the SR Unit. Despite agreeing that the SR Unit is like a ghost, Tojo contends that there are things that only someone like him who has worked for both Kasper and Yosuke can see. This gets a laugh out of Yosuke and he ends the call when noise from Narita cuts in on the conversation. Lehm then appears after having heard Tojo sigh as he thought that he would try to get out of making the call. Yosuke recalls that Tojo still makes one mistake when he tries to rush a job and reflects that he has not laughed that hard in a long time. A file on Koko is shown to be in the passenger seat. In the Narita parking lot, Tojo confirms that the SR Unit is the ghosts. He is then asked to brief the rest of the squad on the SR Unit and gives a detailed and painstaking history about its clandestine origins and how it funds itself through arms dealing via its dummy corporation, Ganville Trading. It is now nearly forgotten and thus free to expand its influence in Southeast Asia, making a clash with Kasper inevitable. He then briefs the squad on Yosuke, who officially is Ganville's senior executive director and supposedly has a Thai wife. He has an impressive background and is trusted by the American military, earning the nickname "Japan's one and only spymaster". Constantly working to ensure that the SR Unit's actions remain secret, he can be stubborn and Koko will need to watch out. She then notices that Jonah has fallen asleep standing up. Yosuke is participating in a conference call with the other members of the SR Unit with everyone in a separate location. Kurosaka briefs them on Korwit Nualkhair, who was killed during a blackout caused by a recent typhoon. Yosuke cuts in to confirm that Kasper was behind it as he received indirect confirmation of HCLI's involvement. He then announces that Koko is now involved, necessitating a change to Plan K, which will be relaunched as Plan KK. The SR Unit as a result can no longer operate covertly but when he starts to talk about conflict the other members immediately volunteer. Yosuke then sets things in motion. Debut appearances *Kaburagi (not named) *Kurosaka Anime and manga differences *Tojo recalls the black operation when Kasper mentions the SR Unit. *A flashback of Chiquita shooting Korwit is shown. *Jonah is shown watching the aircraft from the front. The rest of the squad is shown when Valmet grabs Tojo. *The scene of Yosuke driving before Tojo calls him is longer. The airline taxiing at Narita is different. Lehm is standing behind Tojo after his call with Yosuke ends. The briefing papers on are shown to be from the NSA and are on Koko and HCLI. *Lutz questions Koko's request to Tojo to make his explanation simple. The background images shown during Tojo's briefing are more detailed and more are shown. Valmet is not annoyed by Lehm's smoking. Jonah is shown asleep when Koko notices this. Category:Volume 8 45